Cattle by the River Monnow

It was a hot, humid day as we walked along the bank of the River Monnow at Monmouth. Some of the cattle were, understandably, standing in the water and taking a drink to cool down. What wasn't understandable is why they were all packed so closely together rather than spreading out so they could all refresh themselves. That compressed mass of bodies must have generated a heat that negated any benefit they derived from going to the river.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Hollyhocks, Monmouth

The hollyhocks are flowering in profusion in my part of the world. They are towering over everyone, imposing their large, bright blooms on us, inviting our acclamation. Hollyhocks are popular because they are easy to grow, reappear each year, and make a big, colourful impact. Of course, for many gardeners those qualities can be negatives, particularly where subtlety and a reasonable scale for a small garden are required. However, in a garden that looks after itself because the owners are too busy doing other things they have their place, as appears to be the case in front of this Georgian house in Monmouth, where the local newspaper is produced.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Cirencester

The Roman Corinium mentioned by Ptolemy in 150AD is the present day Cotswolds market town of Cirencester. It lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the Thames, and is often called the "capital of the Cotswolds". There are many buildings featuring the honey-coloured limestone of that region, and more than a few that  have been painted in pastel shades as this view along the Market Place shows.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Hollyhocks

Lest the sturdy but ill-fitting door should convince anyone otherwise the owner has fixed a notice to it saying "Private". And, as if to seal the matter, has planted hollyhocks in front of the door. Now hollyhocks are not pyracantha: there are no needle-like spines to deter an intruder. And yet, it must take a particularly heartless interloper to break through a screen of such imposing blooms.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Mural, Cinderford, Gloucestershire

Street murals that are painted with the support of the community are just as variable as those produced in a clandestine manner by a graffitist. This example, in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, is to my mind, at the better end of the continuum. It is in a collage form, similar to how a pin board might be covered in cut or torn photographs with snippets of text. It seeks to celebrate notable Forest of Dean personalities and keep alive and celebrate some of the language peculiarities of the area.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Paddington railway terminus

When I lived in north-west England I arrived in London by rail at Euston station. After I moved to East Yorkshire King's Cross station became my point of arrival in the capital. A return to living in the north-west re-acquainted me with Euston, and a re-location to Eastern England took me back to King's Cross. My most recent move, to Herefordshire, means that I now arrive in London at Paddington station, a terminus that I don't know particularly well. Consequently, on a recent visit to London I took a few minutes to walk around Brunel's building, much of which dates from 1854. The photograph shows the main 102 feet wide main span of the train shed. There are two flanking spans each about 70 feet in width.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Shoreditch Park, London

A favourite subject of Victorian painters and photographers was the humanity on show in London's parks. It remains an attractive subject today. This shot of Shoreditch Park on a day when the temperature climbed to 35 Celsius contrasts the tree shade and messy humanity enjoying itself with the clear blue sky and the perfection of the recently completed Hoxton Press mid-rise hexagons, two towers offering 198 flats.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Cannon Street station

Cannon Street is a station we use fairly regularly to go to Greenwich. Consequently I have taken a few photographs there. It has two features that make it attractive to the photographer in me - the "exoskeleton" that dominates the main elevation of the building (a subject I have yet to successfully shoot) and the darkness of the platforms. The fortuitously placed figure seen silhouetted against the outside light prompted this shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The march of the towers

In London towers are proliferating. During the past few years I have particularly noticed the march northwards from the City. Three have been built in the past few years in the City Road/Old Street area, a location where Islington meets Shoreditch and Farringdon. The most recent is the rightmost building above - the Atlas Building - a structure that is over 400 feet tall and towers over its neighbours. None of these enhance their location, dwarfing as they do the earlier streetscape. And, by the look of them, none of the other nearly completed blocks do much for the area either.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Birmingham to Shrewsbury coach

I assume this is a replica (or restored original) of the coach that served as transport between Birmingham and Shrewsbury - they are the two placenames painted on the exterior. Once again it is a four-in-hand (see the previous post). I have no idea why this coach and its passengers were undertaking a horse-drawn trip, but I imagine it is a re-enactment of some kind on a shorter journey than the fifty or so miles between those places.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

London to Stamford coach

The London to Stamford coach stands outside Burghley House, somewhere it would have rarely, if ever, have been seen. This scene with the replica, or restored original, coach could date from any time in the eighteenth century to late in the nineteenth century. The giveaway that this is a modern scene are the female grooms and the two mobile phones in use. Otherwise the driver seems ready to get the four-in-hand underway on the just under one hundred miles journey.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10